We are always told to treat our bodies as temples, but what happens when we start treating our temples as bodies? With this question in mind, distinguished guests gathered to speak at Arup Associates Shanghai space on November 24th. Presented by Green Initiatives and Arup Shanghai, this speaking and networking event entitled “How Can We Realize the Dream of ‘Healthy Buildings’?” focused on the possibilities and benefits of a more subtle approach to the way we construct our urban environments.

Where architecture and urban planning once focused on appearance and logistical considerations, there has been a movement recently to pay more attention to peoples’ unconscious reactions to the spaces they are in. In other words, the effects of things like temperature, air quality and white noise. As scientists understand more about human psychology, designers have become more adept at influencing our mental and emotional wellbeing. Planners are now more than ever, attempting to determine and provide the optimum conditions needed to maximize things like the productivity and success of workers, or the feelings of shoppers inside a mall, even the happiness of residents inside an apartment building.

Venue host Arup Associates is no stranger to this topic, having has designed such renowned and iconic spaces as the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and Hong Kong Station, it was only appropriate that Founder and Principal Architect Antonio Ng was among the guest speakers. Ng offered his breadth of experiences and thoughts on “Health & Wellbeing in the built environment”. Also among the guest speakers was International Film Producer Emmanuel Benbihy, who spoke about the necessity of the media to raise the populations’ awareness of (and engagement in) urban issues. Rounding off the talks was Raefer Wallis, Founder and CEO of GIGA, who gave those in attendance his predictions for a future filled with ‘smart spaces’ that can communicate with one another, suggesting that they will someday do just that to ensure the health and wellbeing of all urban space dwellers.

We are always told to treat our bodies as temples, but what happens when we start treating our temples as bodies? With this question in mind, distinguished guests gathered to speak at Arup Associates Shanghai space on November 24th. Presented by Green Initiatives and Arup Shanghai, this speaking and networking event entitled “How Can We Realize the Dream of ‘Healthy Buildings’?” focused on the possibilities and benefits of a more subtle approach to the way we construct our urban environments.

Where architecture and urban planning once focused on appearance and logistical considerations, there has been a movement recently to pay more attention to peoples’ unconscious reactions to the spaces they are in. In other words, the effects of things like temperature, air quality and white noise. As scientists understand more about human psychology, designers have become more adept at influencing our mental and emotional wellbeing. Planners are now more than ever, attempting to determine and provide the optimum conditions needed to maximize things like the productivity and success of workers, or the feelings of shoppers inside a mall, even the happiness of residents inside an apartment building.

Venue host Arup Associates is no stranger to this topic, having has designed such renowned and iconic spaces as the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and Hong Kong Station, it was only appropriate that Founder and Principal Architect Antonio Ng was among the guest speakers. Ng offered his breadth of experiences and thoughts on “Health & Wellbeing in the built environment”. Also among the guest speakers was International Film Producer Emmanuel Benbihy, who spoke about the necessity of the media to raise the populations’ awareness of (and engagement in) urban issues. Rounding off the talks was Raefer Wallis, Founder and CEO of GIGA, who gave those in attendance his predictions for a future filled with ‘smart spaces’ that can communicate with one another, suggesting that they will someday do just that to ensure the health and wellbeing of all urban space dwellers.